How to Combine PDF Files on iPhone, Mac or Windows

You don't need Adobe Acrobat to combine PDF files. iPhones and Macs can do it with built-in apps, and on Windows, Android or a Chromebook a free browser tool does the job.

On iPhone or iPad (Files app)

1. Open the Files app and go to the folder with your PDFs. Move them into one folder first if they're in different places.
2. Tap the More button (three dots in a circle) and choose Select.
3. Tap each file you want to combine. You can include photos too.
4. Tap the More button at the bottom right and choose Create PDF.

The combined PDF appears in the same folder. To be sure the pages come out in the right order, name the files in order first (for example "01 cover", "02 contract", "03 receipts") and select them in that order.

On a Mac

Quick way (Finder): select the PDFs in a Finder window, right-click, then choose Quick Actions → Create PDF. Renaming the files in order first helps keep the pages in the sequence you want.

More control (Preview):

1. Open the first PDF in Preview.
2. Choose View → Thumbnails to show the page sidebar.
3. Drag the other PDF files from Finder into the sidebar, dropping them where you want their pages to go. You can drag thumbnails to reorder pages.
4. Choose File → Export as PDF to save the combined file as a new document, leaving your originals untouched.

On Windows, Android or Chromebook

Windows has no built-in way to merge PDF files; Microsoft Print to PDF can only print one document at a time. The simplest free option is a browser tool:

1. Open Merge PDF.
2. Add your files, or drag them into the page.
3. Drag them into the right order.
4. Click Merge and download the combined PDF.

The merge runs in your browser rather than on a server, so private documents are never uploaded, and it works the same way on Android phones and Chromebooks.

Fixing common problems

• A file is password-protected. Remove the password with Unlock PDF (you'll need to know it), then merge.
• You only need some pages. Pull them out first with Extract PDF Pages, then merge the result.
• Some pages are sideways. Fix them with Rotate PDF before or after merging.
• You have photos or scans as JPGs. Turn them into a PDF with JPG to PDF, then merge.
• The combined file is too big to email. Run it through Compress PDF. See how to make a PDF smaller to email.

What carries over and what doesn't

When PDFs are merged, each page is copied exactly as it was: text stays searchable and images keep their quality. Bookmarks (the outline panel in a PDF reader) from the original files usually aren't kept, and form fields with the same names in different files can clash. If you need a fillable form to keep working, fill it in and save it before merging.